The Speed star and former movie-dude Ted excels at swordplay but was "nervous and uncomfortable" opening night in more thoughtful scenes, Harrison wrote. Kevin Prokosh of the Free Press said Reeves "pulled off a princely performance," but was not exceptional in his soliloquy.

But Reeves, 30, is packing the house through Feb. 4. His mom, and pals David Geffen and Jeffrey Katzenberg are said to plan visits. But Reeves' managers won't let the theater give tickets to U.S. media.

At 17, Reeves worked with Hamlet director Lewis Baumander in Romeo and Juliet in Toronto. He gets $2,000 or so a week, but told Harrison as a teen he shared Hamlet's "alienated sensations," wrestled with "to be, or not to be."